Carbon dioxide is collected for a variety of applications. Natural sources of carbon dioxide are commonly mined to collect carbon dioxide for various industrial purposes. Carbon dioxide is also collected as a byproduct of industrial processes and to remove excess carbon dioxide from a supply of air.
Carbon dioxide may be obtained from various sources using various techniques. However, traditional carbon dioxide collection techniques may be very energy intensive, particularly when run on an industrial scale. The two most demanding energy requirements for carbon dioxide collection are typically the energy required to drive a gas stream past or through a collecting medium and the energy required to regenerate and capture the carbon dioxide from the collecting medium. Therefore, carbon dioxide material costs may become significant, particularly when large quantities are used.
A common method for collecting carbon dioxide is the use of amines to chemically bond carbon dioxide. Such methods involve chemical reactions and require significant energy to release the carbon dioxide from the amines.
Another method for collecting carbon dioxide is the use of sodium carbonate as a catalyst in which an air stream is introduced to a liquid sodium hydroxide stream to produce carbonate salts. Such methods require significant energy because the carbonate salts need to be heated to very high temperatures to release the captured carbon dioxide.
Another method of collecting carbon dioxide is the use of a packed bed of zeolite powder or zeolite spherical extrudates. Such methods also require significant energy to drive the gas stream through the packed bed of zeolite material.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts in the field of carbon dioxide collection.